Bond: The Return
by IdiotWithaBoxandaScrewdriver
Summary: 2 years have passed since Yoh and Hao found themselves bonded and the Shaman King tournament has started back up. Yoh and Hao find a team with their friend Samuel, a child of a minotaur father and a human mother. The stakes are higher this time, with Yoh's friends and family turned against them both.
1. Chapter 1

Star: New story, sequel to my one story Bond. Couple of OCS, fun for all! I own nothing but the plot and my OCS!

Yoh and Hao Asakura, soul-bound twins, watched in amusement as their friend Samuel was fussed over by his parents. Hao's mouth twitched in amusement at Yoh's mental image of Samuel in a child leash, straining to break free. Samuel gave them both a withering look, evidently figuring they were making fun of him silently, which, to be fair, they were doing.

"You've got your special shampoo?" Helene, Samuel's mother, asked.

"Yes, mum." Samuel said, rolling his eyes in the kind of world-weary exasperation that only teenagers could achieve.

"Ooh, I'm just so nervous about you, so far from home." Helene said, standing on tiptoes to hug her son. She looked incredibly tiny next to Samuel, though most people looked tiny beside a Minotaur. Helene was human, her husband, Ferdinand, was a Minotaur like Samuel.

"Hao and Yoh will look after him." Kia said calmly, her white wolf's tail curling up in amusement. She was far, far too refined to wag her tail. Yoh always thought she looked ethereal, with her short halo of white hair that turned into a sleek ponytail at the base of her neck, white wolf ears poking out instead of normal ears, and clear aqua blue eyes that seemed to stare into peoples' souls.

Yoh and Hao wondered if she was putting too much faith in the two of them being able to keep Samuel out of trouble. After all, they were pretty much magnets for trouble, and even more so now that they were soul-bonded. They would do their best however, to keep their young friend safe.

"You two ready to go back to all that?" Kia asked, looking at the two of them.

"As ready as we'll ever be." Yoh and Hao said together, drily. Two years ago they'd been both captured by the X-Laws and tortured. In the midst of all that they were soul-bonded, making them unable to be separated, ever. When they escaped and Yoh's friends and family came to him, they did not react well to the news, and tried to kill both of them with the help of the X-Laws. Hao and Yoh had killed the X-Laws and fled, seeking refuge with Kia, as her magical protections would ensure no one would ever find them.

Now, though, the Shaman King tournament was underway, and the two of them knew they needed to compete. Sixteen year old Samuel was going to be their third teammate. He'd known about his shamanic abilities all his life, as supernaturals were more in tune with their powers, but Yoh and Hao had been able to teach him how to use them. His guardian spirit, an ancient werewolf warrior by the name of Oudulf, had readily agreed to accompany him.

"Remember to speak out loud at least sometimes." Kia added, eyes twinkling with mirth. Since Yoh and Hao could communicate mentally, they sometimes forgot that not everyone else could hear them as well. It had caused a few interesting moments over the last two years.

Aly, the little red-headed vampire that was Kia's long-time assistant, snuck out of the shadows and gave Hao and Yoh each a quick hug, before disappearing again. She wasn't all that comfortable with displays of affection, but she liked the two of them, so she tried.

Samuel extracted himself from his parents and walked over to Hao and Yoh, bags and heavy war hammer in his hands. His short fur was a rich dark brown and covered all his body, except for the palms of his hands, and his hooves and horns. He was broad and tall, and would likely continue to get broader and taller in the next few years. He grinned at the two of them, big brown eyes excited.

"So, how are we getting there?" He asked.

"We teleport, of course." Hao said. Samuel bounced in excitement.

"Call every night." Ferdinand said sternly.

"Yes, Dad." Samuel sighed. "Can we go now?" He asked.

"Patience, young padawan." Yoh said, making Hao snort.

_You love Star Wars, don't deny it.___He thought at his twin.

"_Doesn't mean you're not dorky for quoting it._ Hao replied.

_You're just jealous you didn't get to say it first._ Yoh thought. Hao snorted and refused to answer. Yoh caught Matamune, Hao's cat spirit, smirking at the two of them and chuckled.

"Bye, mum, bye, dad!" Samuel said as Yoh and Hao each put a hand on one of his arms. In the blink of an eye they teleported directly into the Patch Village medical facility, managing to scare Doctor Lithu into leaping into the air, claws out.

"You two!" He declared, trying to smooth down his ruffled fur. "Why is it every time you come by you have to scare me out of my fur?"

A long time ago, Doctor Lithu's ancestors, who were shamans, decided they would stay merged with their spirit companions all the time. Over time this had changed them. The end result was that Doctor Lithu looked like a cougar that could stand on hind legs easily, and that had hands instead of paws.

"Your reactions are amusing." Hao replied to him. Doctor Lithu hissed at him, but gathered the twins in a warm hug.

"I've missed you two." He said. "Now, who's your friend?"

"I'm Samuel, nice to meet you." Samuel said, holding out a hand to shake. Doctor Lithu shook his hand happily.

"Doctor Lithu, a pleasure to meet you. A Minotaur, don't see very many of you around these parts, too dry." Doctor Lithu commented. "Tends to wreak havoc with their sinuses."

"Kia gave me some creams and such for that." Samuel said. Doctor Lithu's ears perked up with interest.

"Kia? As in Kia the Ageless?" He asked.

"One and the same." Hao replied. "We've been with her for the last two years."

"Incredible." Doctor Lithu said. "I have accounts of my great-great grandfather meeting her and the two of them exchanging knowledge. How has she managed to live so long, do you know?"

"No, she doesn't talk about it." Yoh said. "It's really amusing when she calls Hao a youngling though."

"I can only imagine." Doctor Lithu said. "Perhaps you could introduce me sometime."

"We suspect she'll drop by sometime soon, just to check up on us." Yoh said. "Not that she'd ever admit being worried about us, of course."

"Of course." Doctor Lithu said. "Now, let me get a good look at you two."

The last time the doctor had seen them they had been recovering from torture and malnutrition. They were skinny and sickly. Now they had shot up to above six feet tall and begun to broaden out as well. They weren't nearly as broad as a Minotaur, but they were well-muscled, and apparently, handsome, if the reactions of the young girls who came into Kia's shop for their potions and charms were any indication.

"I like the hairstyle." Doctor Lithu commented. The two of them had agreed on a long hairstyle, shorter than Hao's previous style, but long enough that they wore their hair in a low ponytail. Now the only visual difference between the two of them was the faded scar on Yoh's cheek, and even that wasn't always immediately noticeable.

Doctor Lithu poked at Yoh's stomach, making both the twins chuckle. "And you've nicely gained back the weight and muscle you lost."

"Doctor, it was two years ago, we think that by this point we should have." Hao reminded him.

"Well, one does worry." Doctor Lithu replied with a sniff. "Nightmares?"

"We still have them, from time to time." Yoh admitted. "Naturally we feel being around here might increase the frequency of them, but we can deal."

"Well, it's to be expected." Doctor Lithu sighed. "I don't suppose you two ever got anything like a therapist, did you?"

"Actually yes." Hao said. "Kia pretty much made us. She steered us towards a dwarf therapist who respected our wishes to be treated as one."

"That's good." Doctor Lithu said. "I worried about that. What you two went through was terrible, and the mind does not let go of terrible things so easily." He clapped his paws together. "Anyways, I shall escort you to your lodgings. It was agreed that you would stay in Patch Village as opposed to the village set up for the incoming shamans. Less assassination attempts."

"Well then, let's get on with it." Yoh and Hao said, grinning jovially.


	2. Chapter 2

Star: I own nothing!

Chocolove McDaniel was happy to be back in the Patch Village, if only so that he could see his friends again. When he'd left the village after the last tournament he'd realised he hadn't given any of his new friends a way to contact him, and the Oracle Bell had shut itself down and wouldn't turn back on again. So, he'd had to wait, and he hoped his friends would understand.

"What do you think Mic?" He asked his jaguar guardian. "Any of them here yet?"

Mic tilted his head at him and sniffed at the air briefly. Chocolove sometimes wished he had a spirit companion that could talk back when he spoke. Usually when he thought about that he felt bad immediately, because Mic had been his friend for a long time, and he wouldn't trade him for the world.

"Haven't seen any X-Laws yet." He commented aloud. "Saw a couple of Hao's old cronies, wonder what they're doing with their lives now?"

Mic only shrugged in a very human-like gesture. He yawned and looked around before seeming to spot something. He growled softly at Chocolove and pointed his head at one of the little restaurants that dotted the whole village.

Chocolove followed his gesture and saw someone with dark, chestnut brown hair pulled into a low ponytail sitting at one of the patio tables that particular restaurant had. He was seemingly engrossed in a book, every so often looking up to scan down the street. Chocolove grinned and ambled over, happy to see someone he knew at last.

"Hey, long time no see, right?" He said, walking up and slapping the other boy on the shoulder. Dark eyes looked up at him, startled.

"Nice to see you too, Chocolove." A voice behind him said, sounding deeply amused. He turned and found himself staring at a young man identical to the one sitting down, except for the faded scar on his cheek.

"Yoh?" he asked uncertainly, looking between the two of them.

"The one and only." Yoh, the one with the scar, said, smiling. He was holding a cup holder with two cups of coffee in one hand and a plate with a big slice of cheesecake in the other. He sat down with his doppelganger, handing him a cup and placing the plate in the middle of the table. "Sit down, we don't bite."

"Uh, okay." Chocolove sat down and quite frankly stared at Yoh's doppelganger. "Unless Yoh's a triplet or your some kind of clone I'm going to go out on a limb and say hello Hao."

"Hello." Hao replied with a calm smile. "You're a lot calmer than the others were when they first saw us together."

"What do you mean?" Chocolove said. "And I'm not about to make judgements until I've got all the information, you know? Information's kind of my thing."

"We remember." Yoh said, sipping from his coffee. "It's just interesting because you're the friend that was with us… sorry, me, for the shortest time."

"Okay, so what happened?" Chocolove asked.

"It's a long story." Yoh and Hao said at the same time.

"Please, bear with us, some of what we have to say is still quite painful." Hao said.

"Okay, if you need to stop, don't worry about it." Chocolove said.

Yoh and Hao shared a look and began to speak. Chocolove slowly became more and more horrified as they told him about the X-Laws, and the bond they discovered between them. The most horrifying thing though in his eyes was the betrayal of Yoh's friends and family.

"God, that is heavy." Chocolove said, shaking his head. "I mean, are you two okay? You were tortured, are you getting help?"

He was surprised to see a genuine smile appear on Hao's face. "Your concern is appreciated." He said. "We do see a therapist weekly, and will continue to do so while we're here, since we're sure to have old hurts dredged up by this tournament."

"Is it weird, to be in each other's heads all that time?" Chocolove said. "Sorry if I'm asking too many questions."

"No, it's a welcome change from just being screamed at." Yoh said wryly. "It's never felt weird for us, it's always felt very natural, but I think the bond only comes to those who would be compatible in that way."

"And it only started to appear when we weren't at odds with one another." Hao added. "So we weren't stuck with one another while we were enemies."

"I just can't believe the others." Chocolove said, shaking his head. He immediately regretted his comment as both Yoh and Hao stiffened.

"They were afraid." Yoh said, forlornly. "Their fear of Hao overruled their trust of me. I sometimes wonder if my family ever truly trusted me, or if I was just a tool to get rid of Hao all along."

"Sorry." Chocolove said. "Just keeping putting my foot in my mouth today, don't I?"

"We don't mind too much, considering how others have reacted." Hao said. "How are you sure Yoh isn't getting negatively influenced by me?"

"Because it's Yoh." Chocolove said. "He's got a massive will, even if he doesn't always show it. You wouldn't be able to influence him if he didn't want it, and it doesn't sound like that bond of yours is designed to change opinions anyways."

"No, it doesn't. We have similar opinions because we see the arguments each other has and we can come to a consensus on what makes most sense to us." Yoh said. "We have experienced changes in tastes though."

"How so?" Chocolove asked.

"We can taste what the other is eating, and if one of us doesn't like the flavour that disgust transfers to the other and it makes it taste not as good anymore." Hao explained. "So our tastes slowly changed a little bit. We don't eat beef anymore either, since one of the things we were given to eat was rotting beef, and it's kind of soured us to the taste of beef."

"Aww, and here I thought it was because you didn't want to offend me." A new voice said teasingly.

Chocolove looked up and supressed a yelp of surprise at the sight of what looked like a Minotaur dressed in jeans and a Superman t-shirt walking up to them. The Minotaur grinned cheekily at him, evidently enjoying his surprise. He sat down at the last available seat at the table, making the chair groan at his weight.

"Oh, come off it, Samuel." Hao scoffed. "I've seen you eat burgers."

"Mmm, cannibalism." Samuel said, before bursting into laughter. "Aww, Minotaurs aren't really related to modern cows anyways."

"So you really are a Minotaur?" Chocolove asked.

"Oh, Samuel, this is Chocolove, Chocolove this is Samuel, our friend, and his guardian spirit Oudulf." Yoh introduced. A wolf-like creature that stood on hind legs with wide sloped shoulders and braids in his silvery fur appeared and nodded to Chocolove. "Oudulf was a werewolf warrior from about a thousand years ago. Turns out there's different kinds of werewolves, and his is the kind that once bitten he stays in a transformed form and his transformed form is more human-like than most."

"Kind of looks like a Lycan, from the Underworld series." Chocolove commented as Oudulf growled at Mic's curious sniffing, and then disappeared.

"He's a bit anti-social, sorry." Samuel said. "Nice to meet you." He said, sticking out a thick hand covered in short brown fur. Chocolove shook it, feeling the strength in his fingers. "You a friend of theirs?"

"I was Yoh's friend, but I guess I'm Hao's friend now too, since they're a package deal." Chocolove said. "I know they talk about twins being close, but you two are just ridiculous."

Samuel laughed. "Just wait. They forget to speak out loud and I have to remind them." He said. "It's the worst when the two of them are completely silent and then they both burst out laughing randomly."

"Huh, weird." Chocolove said. "I guess the three of you are a team?"

"Yes, sorry Chocolove, but we don't like the idea of him having to find a team on his own, people can be odd about supernaturals, even shamans." Hao explained.

"Hey, no problem. I just don't think I can work with Ren and Horohoro if they still consider you two evil." Chocolove said with a sigh.

"We'll help you find something, don't worry." Yoh said reassuringly. "It'll work out.

Chocolove grinned at him. "Well, you haven't changed that much, have you?"


	3. Chapter 3

Star: I own nothing!

Samuel watched his friends move around their little kitchen. They always moved so fluidly around each other, each completely aware of where the other was and what they were going to do next. It was almost spooky, and certainly unnerving for those that didn't know them to see, but for Samuel it was almost like watching a dance.

"So, Chocolove, was he a good friend?" Samuel asked, breaking their silence. Of course they were talking, but only in their minds to each other. It was often up to him to remind them that there were other people around.

"He was a friend." Yoh said after a pause. "Like we said before he was our… my friend for the shortest time."

"Which surprises us that he is so willing to accept us." Hao added.

"Maybe it's not." Samuel said with a shrug. They both turned to him, giving him identical looks of confusion. "Well, think about it, he's had less time to build up this idealized view of you, Yoh, and because he's spent less time with you, he's willing to be more objective about his opinion."

"You know, we hadn't even considered that." Yoh said, tilting his head at Samuel.

"Also, you got to talk to him alone, without all these other people around him getting riled up, you know, mob mentality and all that." Samuel added. "So he's able to digest the information you gave him without succumbing to more basic instincts."

"Hmm, he's got a point." Hao said. "I'll bet a few of your former friends would have been willing to listen if we had gotten them alone. Ren comes to mind."

"Yes." Yoh agreed. "Maybe Manta, since he was my oldest friend, Horohoro I'm not sure about, or Ryu, given his attachment to Lyserg, and let's not even discuss Lyserg."

"Yes, probably for the best." Hao agreed with a grimace.

"You think they'll have changed their opinions by now, I mean, it's been two years after all." Samuel pointed out.

"Yes, but, well, they can all be very stubborn." Yoh said unhappily. "In any case the fact that they were willing to attack us at all doesn't bode well."

"Two years." Hao reminded him. "It's a long time to think about things."

"Maybe." Yoh said, sounding doubtful. Hao snorted slightly.

"What's funny?" Samuel asked.

"He used to be the optimistic one." Hao replied, gesturing to Yoh.

"Well, torture and near-death experiences will dampen anyone's spirits." Yoh replied grimly. "But, maybe we are being a little pessimistic."

"Prepare for the worst and be happy when it doesn't happen." Samuel said. "Something my dad likes to say."

"He's just full of wise sayings, isn't he?" Hao commented.

"He just likes fortune cookies too much." Samuel said. "Anyone else we should be looking out for?"

"Come to think of it," Yoh said, frowning slightly. "Faust wasn't part of the group that tried to kill us, was he?"

"No, he wasn't there." Hao said. "He's also a lot more level-headed than the others."

"We might be able to convince him to team up with Chocolove." Yoh added thoughtfully. "Then we'd just need one more to even out his team."

"True." Hao added. The two of them fell silent again, obvious discussing something.

"What are you two talking about now?" Samuel asked patiently.

"What?" They both asked. "Right."

"We were thinking if there were any of Hao's people left alive, if any of them might be willing to team up." Yoh said.

"If they were willing to accept the changes in us, that is." Hao said.

"Well, no use worrying about it right now, right Oudulf?" Samuel asked of the stoic werewolf.

"Worrying only causes stress." Oudulf replied. He was a being of few words and preferred to stay out of conversations for the most part.

"You're right, it'll work out on its own." Yoh said, smiling. Hao shook his head slightly, but smiled as well.

%&%&%&%

The twins shot up in bed, teeth clenched shut against the screams that were locked in their throat. They grabbed at each other, not even fumbling in the darkness, and relief washed over the two of them at the other's touch. They sat in their beds, quietly holding hands for a moment before teleporting themselves outside, out by the small lake.

_Feels like yesterday. _Yoh thought, looking around the spot where they'd had to tell his former family and friends what had happened to them.

_Yes. _Hao agreed, regret colouring his thoughts.

_What happened has happened._ Yoh reminded him as he always did. _I wouldn't have had it any other way. I just wish they would have been more understanding. _

_As do I, if only to keep you from having to deal with this grief._ Hao replied, sitting down on the lakeshore.

_All those people that I thought trusted me, who I trusted, looking at me like a stranger._ Yoh said, both of them shuddering at the memory of that last fight. Because of their bond Hao's attitude towards killing had become a lot less indifferent, where Yoh had become a lot less guilt-ridden about his role in the death of the X-Laws. They balanced each other out. Still, neither of them liked to be reminded of the lives they had taken.

They both flicked through happier memories, ones that didn't hurt even now. They smiled as they remembered finding Matamune for the first time, a half-starved kitten with the heart of a lion. The cat spirit seemed to know they were thinking of him, for he gave them a look of amusement mixed with fondness.

Hao reached out and touched the surface of the lake, watching the ripples spread out. Life was like the ripples on the lake, actions did not stop where they were but affected many things, sometimes far away or far in the future. Who knew that the ripples each of them had started would lead them here one day.

_I think it's time to go back inside. _Yoh thought with amusement. _When we are thinking in metaphors it's time to try and get more sleep._

_Of course._ Hao answered, and the two of them teleported back to their room, clutching hands.

"You two want honey or sugar in your tea?" Samuel called from the kitchen. Yoh and Hao looked at each other and walked towards the kitchen.

"Did we wake you?" Hao asked. "We thought we'd managed not to scream."

"You didn't, but that teleporting of yours is loud, like a thunderclap, or a gunshot." Samuel explained.

"We're sorry for disturbing you." Yoh said, thinking if they wanted to have a midnight stroll, they'd be better off just walking next time. Hao agreed mentally with his assessment.

"Eh, no problem, wasn't sleeping much anyways." Samuel replied with a grin. "Too much exciting things going on around here for me to sleep." He bounced a little, in excitement, his hooves clinking on the tiles of the kitchen.

"Careful, don't be breaking anything." Hao teased.

"I'll have you know, I'm no bull in a china shop." Samuel said with a snort. Yoh snickered and Hao groaned. That was one thing the two of them would never agree on; their reaction to Samuel's sense of humour.

"How bad was it tonight?" Samuel asked seriously, giving them each a cup of tea.

"No worse than it usually is." Yoh replied. "Old memories being drudged up."

"You're still going to talk to the therapist while you're here, right?" Samuel asked.

"Yes." Yoh and Hao answered.

"Good." Samuel said.

"Okay mother." Hao muttered, sipping from his cup.

"And eat your vegetables too!" Samuel replied, making them both crack up.


	4. Chapter 4

Ren stalked through the village, fists clenched by his sides. It seemed like he was the only one of their group of friends to have grown up in the last couple of years. Then again, their group really hadn't lasted long after Yoh had left; he'd really been the glue holding them all together.

Two years had been ample time to think about how they'd reacted to Yoh and Hao being bonded together. Quite frankly, he didn't like how he'd responded to that whole situation. His only defence was that they had all been scared and angry and young and stupid. Not that it made much difference if he never got to see Yoh again to apologise.

As if karma was finally granting him a boon he spotted two tall young men with long, chestnut brown hair pulled back in low ponytails standing talking to Silva as he swept outside one of the shops in the village. He hesitated, watching the two of them for a moment. He couldn't tell the difference between the two of them from this angle, which was a little disconcerting, but he'd told himself he would listen this time, and not come to some illogical conclusion. So, with a deep breath, he walked over to them.

One of the twins noticed him, and the other's head turned almost at the same to watch him approach. He faltered only a second, and then kept walking until he was in front of the two of them. He could see the faded scar on the one twin's cheek and remembered that it was Yoh who had that.

"Good morning Yoh, Hao." Ren said. They were taller than him still, which was annoying, because he'd finally grown and was about six feet tall.

"Good morning." They replied together, tone neutral. They were wary of him, but he could hardly fault them for that.

"Can we speak, privately?" Ren asked. Both their eyes flickered for a moment. Ren fidgeted nervously under their silent stares. Finally Hao turned to Silva.

"Is there somewhere we can speak to him?" He asked.

"Use the back room of the shop, I'll knock if I need to come in." Silva replied.

"Thank you." The twins said. Yoh gestured for Ren to follow them as they headed into the shop. Ren followed, wondering momentarily if he should have brought a weapon, but decided that sent the wrong message. The back room was filled with half-finished knick-knacks and broken things gathering dust. Yoh and Hao leaned against one of the walls, watching him warily. It was eerie the way they matched each other in body language and expression.

Ren took a deep breath, and decided just to say it. "I was a fool." He looked down as he blurted it out. He heard a snort, and thought it might be Hao, but for all he knew it could be Yoh. It had been two years after all, plenty of time to change.

"What, exactly, were you a fool about?" One of them asked, his voice cool.

"Yoh's my friend, I should have trusted you." Ren said, looking up at Yoh. Yoh stared at him for a moment and then looked away. "I have no excuses for the way I acted, what I did was inexcusable."

"How long did it take you to come to this conclusion?" Yoh asked, still not looking at him.

"About six months to start thinking that we'd made a huge mistake." Ren admitted. "Not that anyone else agreed with me." He added bitterly. Yoh closed his eyes and sighed heavily, tiredly.

"Why did you start to think it was a mistake?" Hao asked, his voice suspicious. He kept glancing at Yoh, a faint worried expression on his face. It was strange, but it strengthened Ren's belief that they had been wrong about the bond.

"It didn't add up." Ren said, starting to pace around the small room. Both twins eyed him warily. "If Yoh was really turned by Hao, he would have killed me in that fight, not let me live and then turn tail and vanish. Hao doesn't leave threats alive unless he's got plans for them."

"How do you know we don't?" Hao asked. Ren glared at him for a moment. Hao's mouth twitched slightly. "Forgive us… me, my other half says not to antagonize you." Yoh gave Hao a distinctly unimpressed look.

"That wouldn't make sense either. You would have known none of us would join you, and you couldn't add our power to yours like you tried to with Yoh." Ren said, beginning to pace again. "And then… the look on Yoh's face just before you both left. He was hurt, hurt deeply, and we caused that."

Both of them were silent, so he forged on. "It didn't make sense that if Hao was controlling Yoh, that Yoh would be hurt by our betrayal." Ren said. It was easier to speak about the two of them if he acted like he wasn't actually talking to them. "Hao didn't care about us, Hao didn't care about anyone, so if Yoh had been taken over by Hao, he would not have cared about us, and would not have gone through an act of pretending to care, when we obviously weren't listening to him."

"When I brought these things up the next time I saw the idiot Ainu, Ryu, and Yoh's family, they refused to listen." Ren said. "After many useless arguments I finally cut ties with them all. I tried to contact Faust, but it seemed he wasn't eager to speak to any of us after learning what we'd almost done. We didn't know how to get in touch with Chocolove, but I suppose I'll have to try to get to him before the idiots do."

"Already done." Hao said smugly. "He spoke to us yesterday and accepted our story." Ren looked at him in surprise.

"He believed you? Just like that?" Ren asked suspiciously. Hao's eyes narrowed at him.

"What? Surprised that someone who wasn't that close to Yoh is more loyal to him than you were?" Hao growled, real venom in his voice. Yoh shifted a little, looking at his twin and Hao shifted as well, his scowl fading a bit. "Sorry." He muttered sullenly.

"No, you're right." Ren said. "And I'm ashamed that he believed you and I did not."

"So now what?" Hao asked.

"I was hoping to join with you in your team." Ren said. Hao and Yoh shook their heads.

"We've been training with a friend by the name of Samuel. He's a Minotaur and we are charged with his safety." Hao explained. "We will not oust him from our team, not for anyone."

"Oh." Ren said. "I do not want to be on the same team as that idiot Ainu again."

"Chocolove would likely be willing to team with you, if you explain that you are no longer against us." Hao said. "Then you'd only need one more."

"Faust, perhaps." Ren said. "I know he refused to believe Yoh had gone bad."

"We had already been considering him." Hao said. "If he is unwilling, or already has a team, would you be willing to work with one of… my old followers?"

Ren noticed the hesitation in using single pronouns, but decided he didn't need to bring it up. It obviously had something to do with the bond. "As long as they're not planning to hurt me or anyone else." He said with a shrug.

"Good." Hao said. Ren got the feeling that he was being tested, to see if he was truly sorry, or if it was an act.

"Where's Amidamaru?" Ren asked, looking around.

"Keeping watch." Hao answered shortly. "Why?"

"It is unusual that he is not with Yoh, that's all." Ren said with a shrug.

"He felt his duty was to make sure no one else tried to come in here without us knowing." Hao said coolly.

"You really don't trust me, do you?" Ren asked.

"No, we don't." Ren stared at Yoh in surprise at his words. Hao he could understand not trusting him, but Yoh? It made him angry.

"I came here, without weapons, no back-up, and you're telling me you still don't trust me?" He spat.

"The last time we saw you," Yoh said, voice soft, but hard. "You were trying to kill us. You were trying to kill me, your friend, the one who would have gone to hell and back for you, who defended you against everyone, who trusted you even though you'd tried to hurt me. You decided that you couldn't return that trust, so don't get all butthurt when we don't trust you." His voice dropped again, turning sad. "You hurt us, Ren, you hurt me, deeply, and that hurts not just going to go away because you say you're sorry."

Looking into Yoh's sad eyes Ren felt his anger dissipate. They had been the ones to betray Yoh, they had been the ones to go after him with the intent to kill, just to get rid of Hao. Of course Yoh wasn't going to trust him right now, he was going to have to earn back his trust.

"We accept your apology, but we can't forgive you, not yet." Yoh added quietly.

"I understand." Ren said unhappily. He understood, but he didn't like it. "I'll see myself out, shall I?"

"See you later, Ren." Yoh said, not unkindly. Ren only hoped it was true.


	5. Chapter 5

Star: I own nothing!

Yoh stared at his coffee cup for a long moment and then turned to Amidamaru. "Do you think we were too hard on him?" He asked his samurai companion.

"No, I do not think you were too hard on Ren." Amidamaru answered immediately. "To be honest I was not expecting either of you to go that easy on him."

"The hurt and anger were tempered by the memory of friendship and the desire not to spook him too badly." Hao replied.

"It wouldn't have been fair for us to give him forgiveness when we really didn't mean it." Yoh said. "He and the others nearly killed us, we can't just let that slide, not anymore."

"I think that is where his anger came into play." Matamune observed, stealing a fry from Hao's plate and munching on it. "Because Yoh was willing to forgive him almost immediately before."

"That time it wasn't personal, and we weren't friends yet." Yoh replied.

"But to have someone try to kill us and have it be someone who was trusted, that's a different story." Hao finished. "Stop stealing food. We keep offering to order you your own plate."

"It's more entertaining to steal off yours." Matamune replied, tails twitching in amusement.

"Brat." Hao muttered.

"I learned everything from you." Matamune said, saccharine sweet. Hao snorted at him.

The twins looked up as Samuel and Chocolove walked towards them down the sandy street. Samuel was telling the tail end of a joke, which made Chocolove crack up. "Oh gods, they're exchanging jokes." Hao sighed. "We'll never hear the end of it."

"Hey, you two!" Samuel said, coming up and sitting down. "Did you order anything for me?" He asked with a pout.

"We ordered for you, but not Chocolove, sorry, we didn't know what you'd like." Yoh said. They'd agreed that Yoh would do most of the talking until they were sure Chocolove was comfortable with them both.

"Not a problem." Chocolove said, sitting down. "Hey, did you hear the one about-"

"No, please no." Hao cut him off. "We have to deal with enough jokes from Samuel."

"Aw, no fun." Chocolove said. "Anyways, I had an interesting conversation with Ren. Seems we're good to form a team with Faust, who went to take a nap, so you'll probably see him tomorrow. Sounds like he's been doing a lot of research lately."

"Resurrection?" Yoh asked.

"Likely." Chocolove agreed. "Those two are worse than any Shakespeare tragedy."

"How did Ren seem?" Yoh asked.

"Disappointed by your talk." Chocolove said. "Seemed like he'd expected to be welcomed with open arms."

"He hurt us." Hao said, letting their anger be heard. "That does not go away with an apology."

"In any case we didn't want to make him think that everything was okay with us, and then have him be confused or hurt when we are wary around him." Yoh added.

"Because we can't be sure that he won't change his mind again when he realises just how entwined our minds really are." Hao finished.

"Yes, he does not appear to understand that you two are as close to being one mind in two bodies as someone can get." Amidamaru said. "While you retain your individuality, your personalities and emotions are influenced by one another. I dare say over the last two years your opinions have become the same as one another, and the only reason you display different emotions is because one of you chooses to be different."

"Got it in one." Matamune said.

"It's for others' sakes." Hao said. "People get a little weird when we do everything the same. Most of the time when we're displaying different emotions it's because we're feeling a lot of things, so we can choose which emotion to display."

"So if you really want to get a sense of how we're feeling, you have to look at both of us." Yoh explained to Chocolove.

"How far does it go?" Chocolove asked with interest. "Can you take over each other's nervous systems?"

"No." Yoh said, shaking his head. "We often make the same movements though, because we know the other is going to do it, and it makes sense for us to do the same."

"We can see through each other's eyes if we concentrate, but we usually just wind up bumping into things if we try." Hao added. Chocolove snorted with laughter at that. "We also feel physical sensations that the other feels, and can actually take pain into ourselves from the other, to spare them pain."

"Huh, let me guess, you did that while being tortured by the X-Laws." Chocolove guessed.

"We didn't figure out about it until the last little while." Yoh said. "And the bond didn't complete until we were out either, so there were a lot of things we couldn't do yet. We also share power between us."

"Couldn't that possibly be bad?" Chocolove asked. "Because if both of you are taking from the same power source if one of you gets drained, the other will too."

"That is true, but without the Spirit of Fire we're not using up nearly that much of our power when we do use it." Hao explained. "There is that danger, but we've trained ourselves so that we use the least amount of power we can with devastating results."

"It's quite effective, actually." Amidamaru said eagerly. "Not as showy as some of our previous attacks, but more efficient."

"What about you, big guy, what are your attacks like?" Chocolove asked.

"Oudulf and I have a number of claw-like attacks, but also earth attacks as well." Samuel said. "Minotaurs are naturally connected to the earth, so working through Oudulf I can connect to the earth and do things like throw boulders and make the land shake and roll a bit. Not much, mind you, and it takes a lot out of me to do it, too."

"Cool. Mic and I use claw attacks and wind attacks." Chocolove said. "Can't wait to see you three in action."

"It is going to be awesome, our opponents are gonna learn that if you mess with the bull, you get the horns." Samuel said with a grin.

Hao groaned and banged his head on the table while Yoh shook his head. Chocolove laughed his ass off. "Should have known it was going to be a bad idea having two jokesters around." Yoh said. "Especially jokesters that prefer bad puns."

"There are no bad puns, only bad deliveries." Chocolove said sagely.

"If we still had the spirit of Fire we'd singe your hair for that one." Hao said, lifting his head up and glaring half-heartedly at Chocolove. Chocolove just snickered at him.

"I ain't scared of you." He said.

"Bond with your brother and no one takes you seriously anymore." Hao muttered, making both Chocolove and Samuel laugh. He shook his head and smiled.

_Why do you have so many strange friends? _He asked Yoh.

_If I recall correctly, you're the one who introduced us both to Samuel. _Yoh replied wryly.

_Touche. _Hao said back.

"See, there they go again, with their little head-talking." Samuel complained. "Gotta keep them talking otherwise it's just dead silence forever."

"Can we throw stuff at them?" Chocolove asked.

_Why did we think this was a good idea again?_ Hao asked Yoh.

_Because we like having friends? _Yoh replied.

…_.I want to become a hermit. _


	6. Chapter 6

Star: I own nothing!

Samuel laughed as Yoh and Hao sank into the hot springs with sighs of pleasure. "Dudes, you sound like you've just had the best orgasm ever." He told them.

"I'm going to call your mother about your language." Hao threatened.

"But seriously, it's like you two just achieved Nirvana or something." Samuel said. "I mean this is great, but come on."

"Hey, it's been a long time since we've gotten to enjoy hot springs." Yoh said.

"There is such a thing as hot tubs." Samuel said.

"It's not the same." Hao replied.

"Ooh, hoity-toity." Samuel teased.

"There are minerals in these waters that help your skin, you don't get that in a hot tub." Hao explained. "There's just something about sitting in a natural hot spring that's incredible."

"Okay, I'll give you that. The fact that the water is warmed enough for us to sit in but not kill us, and it's being warmed by volcanic activity, that's pretty cool." Samuel said.

"Plus hot tubs are usually either chlorine-based or salt based and we've got sensitive skin to that sort of thing." Yoh said.

"I think that has more to do with your not used to the chemicals, at least Hao isn't." Samuel said.

"Why do there need to be chemicals in the water in the first place?" Hao grumbled.

"It has to do with sanitation." Samuel said. "Chlorine kills a lot of bacteria, so if you're in a big pool with a lot of people, you're not as likely to get sick from something someone else is carrying."

"That makes sense, we suppose." Hao said. "Still, it's not very pleasant to be in."

"Try having fur sometime." Samuel replied.

"No thanks." Yoh and Hao replied together.

The door separating the hot spring from the initial bathing area inside and a few people came out. There was a young man with blue hair, another young man with green hair, and a tall man with the most ridiculous hairdo Samuel had ever seen ever. They all stopped when they saw Hao and Yoh, various degrees of anger and fear showing on their faces.

"Come on in, the water's great." Samuel said, sinking deeper into the water.

"You're going to stink when you get out." Hao said, flat out ignoring their audience. "Worse than wet dog."

"Do you have any idea of how much human beings stink to guys like me who have sensitive noses?" Samuel asked in reply. "Don't even get me started on cologne and perfume, yuck!"

"What are you doing here?" The green-haired one asked harshly. He was glaring so hard at Hao that Samuel was surprised he hadn't burst into flames.

"We're having a soak, Lyserg." Yoh said calmly. "Nice to see you, Horohoro, Ryu." He nodded at all of them, seemingly friendly. Samuel knew Yoh and Hao pretty good though, and he could tell that Yoh was wary and Hao was angry, though trying to seem unconcerned.

"You just gonna stand there staring at us?" Samuel asked. "I mean, I know I'm a fine specimen, but please, no ogling."

Yoh splashed him with water and he laughed. "Why are you here at all?" Horohoro asked.

"Maybe because the tournament is running again and we have the best shot at being king?" Hao asked, sarcasm lacing his tone. Samuel snorted at their annoyed looks; that's what they got for asking stupid questions. "As Samuel said, either come in or go away, you're starting to annoy us."

"You let him speak for you?" Ryu demanded of Yoh.

"If you will remember we are bonded together, we are able to hear each other's thoughts." Yoh said patiently. "We hear each other's thoughts. Hao is not speaking for me, he is speaking for us, saying what we both wish to say. Perhaps it could have been said nicer, but we're not that happy at the moment with all of you."

"Why not?" Lyserg snarled.

"You really have to ask that?" Yoh asked. "Remember what you all tried to do the last time you saw us?"

"You're being controlled by him, Yoh. We wanted to free you in the only way we could." Ryu said softly.

"Apparently trusting your friend, who would stand by you through everything, is too much to ask." Samuel said sarcastically.

"And who are you?" Horohoro demanded.

"I'm Samuel, these two beautiful idiots' friend." Samuel said with a cheerful grin.

"We're the idiots?" Hao asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"May I remind you of the potion incident?" Samuel said.

"We said we'd never speak of that again." Hao replied. Samuel just snickered at him.

"Why are you with him, do you know what he's done?" Lyserg demanded.

"Yeah? Hao's known in the supernatural community." Samuel said with a shrug. "I happen to enjoy their senses of humour and they're just overall cool people to hang out with."

"He's killed people." Lyserg pointed out.

"Lots of people have killed people, including the former Iron Maiden." Yoh interjected. "You didn't see anything wrong with her killing people simply for believing something different, did you?"

"Jesus, is this the dark ages or something?" Samuel said.

"Hate to tell you Samuel, but people still are killed for believing different things." Hao said. "We're going to fix that."

"By killing people." Horohoro said bluntly.

"Maybe some, but not all." Yoh said. "Personally we'd like to get rid of anyone who would willfully harm a child."

"I can agree with that." Samuel said.

"You actually think that's okay?" Ryu demanded. "No wonder you're friends with them."

"Hey, what you don't understand is the culture of supernaturals. Most supernatural species have trouble having children. My mother was terrified of losing me while pregnant. So, we're very protective of all children, children are to be celebrated, to be treated with utmost respect." Samuel explained. "A supernatural who harms a child is considered unnatural and will be executed, so no, I don't have any problem with my friends saying that they will get rid of anyone who would do horrible things to a child. Even Kia, who a lot of people consider such a merciful figure, will not hesitate to gut someone who hurt a child."

"That's the most passionate speech we've ever heard you give." Yoh said, sounding impressed.

"Yeah, well, it's a big deal for us supernaturals, you know?" Samuel said bashfully.

"Not making fun of you, we were impressed." Hao told him. "I know Minotaurs aren't usually good with speeches."

"Naw, most of us don't do too much talking. I'm a bit of an anomaly in that." Samuel said with a grin.

"Are you going to stay or go?" Hao asked again. Lyserg scowled and made an aggressive move towards Hao, but Horohoro held him back.

"We're going." He said. "Don't get comfortable, we're not going to let you ruin the world."

"Well that was entertaining." Samuel commented when they were gone.

"Uh huh." Yoh said blankly. Hao threw an arm around his twin's shoulders and Yoh leaned into him. Samuel let the two of them talk mentally, knowing Yoh was hurting badly, and Hao was the best one to help him through it. Sometimes Samuel felt bad for the things that his friends had gone through and wished there was something he could do about it.


	7. Chapter 7

Star: I own nothing!

Yoh and Hao strode through the Patch's medical facility, identical looks of worry on their faces. Doctor Lithu had summoned them, and he had sounded very serious. He obviously hadn't wanted to say what was going on, but the stress in his voice was enough to have him on high alert.

Doctor Lithu met them at the door to one of the intensive care rooms. He was wringing his hands, claws digging into his skin. "I'm sorry, I know I probably should not ask this of you, but I do not know how else to save his life." He said.

"What happened?" Hao asked.

"You'd best see for yourself." Doctor Lithu said, ushering them inside.

Hao and Yoh stared at the man in the hospital bed. He was just barely recognisable as Luchist, Hao's former second-in-command. His face was swollen beyond belief and a tube was protruding from his mouth, helping him breathe. Bandages covered almost all of what they could see of him and heart and brain wave monitors, as well as IVs nearly covered the rest of him.

"I don't know who did this to him, I can make guesses, but Nichrome brought him to me." Doctor Lithu said. "I cannot get him stabilized, his kidneys and liver are damaged beyond what I can repair, there's swelling in his brain and broken ribs pierced his lungs and heart valve. I don't think he's going to survive the night, unless…"

"Unless we can help him." Yoh finished. "Thank you for calling us."

"You're not angry?" Doctor Lithu asked.

"Why would we be angry?" Yoh asked.

"Asking you to do this for me, using you like this." Doctor Lithu said.

"You are asking us as your friends to help someone, we would not be angry for that." Hao said. "He was loyal, faithful, and he helped more than I would have admitted back then. It's hard sometimes, dealing with a body younger than what we… I… remember being, and he did his best to try and make… me feel comfortable in my own skin again."

"We'll help him." Yoh said.

The two of them moved towards the bed. Hao moved to Luchist's head, placing his hand on Luchist's head. Yoh placed his hands on Luchist's ribs and the two of them closed their eyes and began to work. It was slow, because there was so much damage and so much to repair.

Finally Hao was done with repairing Luchist's skull and bringing the swelling down. He stepped back and Luchist almost immediately opened his eyes, looking around in a panic. His eyes settled on Hao, and those eyes widened. He tried to sit up, but Hao pushed him back down.

"Lie still for a moment more, we're almost finished." Yoh said. Luchist focused on him and his brow furrowed in confusion.

"It's a long story." Hao said. "Once we're done the Doctor can get that tube out of your mouth and we can speak."

"Done." Yoh declared. The two of them stepped back to let the doctor inspect his patient. Doctor Lithu first tackled them both in a warm hug.

"Thank you so much." He said. "I hate losing patients."

"No problem." Both replied.

Doctor Lithu smiled and worked on getting Luchist free of the tubes and wires he was trapped by. "Hao-sama?" were the first words out of his mouth.

"Hello." Hao said, smiling faintly. Luchist looked between him and Yoh, his expression confused.

"Yoh-sama?" He asked.

"Yes." Yoh said. "We know this is strange, but can you tell us what happened?"

"I'm sorry Yoh-sama, but it was your friend, Lyserg Diethel." Luchist said. "He attacked me while I was taking a walk, I did nothing to antagonize him."

"We believe you." Hao said. Yoh could feel his anger rising, while his own worry began to rise as well.

_Are there any others that could be attacked?_ He thought, cutting through Hao's rising rage.

"Who else is there that he might go after?" Hao asked Luchist.

"It's only myself, Mari and Opacho." Luchist said.

It was impossible for the twins to tell which one of them the spike of fear came from. "Matamune!" Hao barked. The cat spirit appeared and then he and Hao disappeared.

"What about the others?" Yoh asked gently, already guessing the answer.

"The X-Laws got to them." Luchist said softly. Hao appeared again with Mari and Opacho, the latter clinging to him, babbling incoherently. Hao got down on his knees and embraced her. She clung to him desperately, her words turning to sobbing apologies.

"No, don't be sorry." Hao said gently. "You were afraid, and you should never stay with someone who makes you afraid. Understand?"

"Yes, Hao-sama." Opacho said. "Where did you go?" The six-year old asked plaintively.

"It's a long story, and it will explain why Lyserg targeted you as well." Hao said.

The two of them took turns telling the story of their Bonding. They glossed over the torture and the imprisonment part, neither of them wanted to have to remember that part too much. When they were done they just waited to hear what they had to say.

"Hao-sama and Yoh-sama are okay?" Opacho asked finally.

"We're fine now, Opacho." Yoh said with a smile.

"Good." Opacho said. "Hao-sama still going to kill all humans?"

"No." Hao said.

"Good." Opacho said happily. "I stayed with foster family before Luchist found me, they were nice people, helped lots of children with no home. Don't deserve to die."

"Then what are you planning?" Mari asked curiously.

"Our main goal is helping the supernatural community integrate into the rest of society." Yoh said. "We feel that other goals will be helped by their presence."

"Hao, Yoh, I'm going to go speak to Goldva, see if I can't convince her to let these three stay in the Patch's village, for their protection." Doctor Lithu said before leaving.

"What is he?" Luchist asked when he was gone.

"His ancestors were Patch shamans who chose to remain integrated with their spirit partners at all times. Over generations of this they began to change to resemble those spirits." Yoh explained. "He's a good man, if a little odd."

"And jumpy." Hao added. Both of them grinned, remembering how many times they'd managed to scare the doctor.

"How is this going to work, are we going to make one team and have different people in different fights…?" Luchist trailed off as they shook their heads.

"Sorry Luchist, but we have a third already." Hao said.

"And we're not going to make him join another group, not when we've been working so well all together." Yoh finished. "But, that means you three can work together, or we can mix and match with our other allies."

"Other allies?" Mari asked.

"Ren, Chocolove and Faust can be trusted, anyone else cannot, including the Asakura family." Yoh said grimly. "We can meet with them later."

"For now, don't go anywhere without someone else to watch your back." Hao added. "We want to avoid losing any more lives."

"I have to ask, what about the X-Laws?" Luchist asked.

"The X-Laws are dead, they're no danger to anyone anymore." Yoh said. "And yes, we were the ones to kill them."


	8. Chapter 8

Star: I own nothing!

Yoh and Hao sat outside, staring at the stars above them. _I don't blame him. _Hao thought after a while.

_I understand his anger, but to take it out on other people besides you like that…. I don't think he realizes what he's turning into. _Yoh replied.

_No one ever does. I didn't. _Hao thought gently. _I understand the desire for revenge, and I understand his hatred. I can't really fault him for wanting it; I killed my mother's killer after all. _

_Did it make it better? _Yoh asked.

_No. _Hao replied. _No end to the emptiness inside me, it didn't bring my mother back. The only good thing is that he couldn't hurt anyone else anymore, which really wasn't something I was thinking about, and probably Lyserg isn't either. _

"Hey you two, whatcha talking about?" Samuel asked, plunking himself down beside them both.

"Discussing Lyserg, and his attempt at murder." Yoh replied.

"I don't think he actually wants to do it." Samuel said. "Because if he had, he would have done it, not chickened out at the last second and ran away, but that's just my opinion."

"You could be right." Hao conceded. "But we don't want to take that chance, and Luchist is not the one he really wants dead."

"He never could bring himself to kill anyone, even when he was indoctrinated into the X-Laws, and he was as fanatical as they were by that point." Yoh said. "People change though, that we know." He said, looking at Hao, who smiled.

"It was easy for… me to let go of my hatred for humanity though. We… I… it was exhausting, and three lives, a thousand years and nothing to show for it. I think some part of me knew that taking the Great Spirit would be suicide, and I welcomed it. I just wanted the hurt to stop, and for the longest time I thought it would end with humanity, but…" He shook his head. "It was easy for me to be swayed by Yoh, because I was already sick of it all. Lyserg hasn't got that, he hasn't got a thousand years' worth of being just done with it all."

"True." Samuel said. "Do you regret coming here; opening up all these old hurts again?"

"A little bit." Yoh said. "Part of us hoped that things would have changed, but… we understand their distrust. Logically we know it looks bad the two of us being bonded, and logically we know they probably think I would rather be dead than in Hao's control, but my heart just sees their betrayal, and it hurts."

"The heart is not a logical thing." Matamune said. "I knew that Hao-sama had to be stopped five hundred years ago, and I knew that it was only with his death that he could be stopped, but in my heart of hearts I could only see my actions as the worst betrayal of a man who was my dearest friend."

"I've forgiven you for that." Hao said. "It took me a long time, but I have."

"It's not easy to admit you've made a mistake." Samuel said. "Also, you two have been using I and me a lot, and it's a little weird."

"It feels weird." Yoh and Hao replied together.

"It's easier to communicate certain concepts though." Yoh said.

"And mostly used for past events." Hao added.

"So, what should be done about Lyserg?" Samuel asked.

"Nothing for now." The twins answered.

"He has hurt Luchist, that is correct, with the intent to kill him, but are we to execute him for that?" Yoh asked.

"Lyserg is an angry, hurting eighteen year old, and while that does not excuse him it does help to explain his actions." Hao added. "We don't think he'd hurt Opacho, but we don't want to take that chance."

"If he tries to hurt us, or hurt someone else we will defend them or us, but we're not going to try to kill him." Yoh said.

"He's a problem, but not a problem like the X-Laws were." Hao said. "We don't think he'll try something like that again for a while."

"We're not sure we can save him, seeing as he does hate Hao, and now by extension, me, but we don't want to give him any more reason for anger." Yoh said. "Honestly, we didn't come here to make friends again. They made their choice, if they don't want to trust us; we're not going to push them. It's been nice to see that some have chosen to trust us, but we know it's not realistic to expect them all to be so forgiving."

"I bet that attitude has come from therapy." Samuel said.

"You would be correct, as we were both very angry at first and not at all willing to forgive. We still haven't forgiven, but that's just us holding onto our hurt." Yoh said. "Our therapist recommended looking at things from another point of view, through the eyes of someone who isn't part of the bond."

"It took a while, even then, to convince us that they weren't completely idiots for doing what they did." Hao added. "Not that they aren't idiots."

"Be nice." Yoh said.

"Yoh, you're the nice one, he's the grouchy one." Samuel said.

"Rude." The twins said.

"No seriously though, Hao's the one who holds onto suspicion, holds onto anger, and that's not a bad thing, because Yoh tempers that with his willingness to trust and to let negative emotions go." Samuel explained. "You balanced each other."

"Kia figures that's why we were Bonded." Hao said. "Because we were unbalanced. Yoh's ability to trust and forgive made him a lot of friends, but it also left him open to being hurt. My suspicion kept me alive, but it kept people at arm's length and made me very cold, very unsympathetic, and that was no good either."

_No kidding._ Yoh thought.

_My mistakes are many, and I will spend eternity paying for them, if need be._ Hao reminded him.

_Maybe you should become a servant of the Mother, like Kia did. _Yoh suggested.

_Or I can fix the world without killing humanity. _Hao said. _A long, arduous, thankless task that I feel is near impossible, even after all this time._

_I don't disagree that humanity has done a lot of bad, but I still think they can change. _Yoh thought.

_I want to believe that._ Hao replied.

"Hey guys, non-psychic friend here." Samuel reminded both of them.

"Sorry." They replied.

"No worries, it's kind of funny, because you two make faces while you speak like that." Samuel said.

"And you've never mentioned this before?" Hao asked.

"I think it's funny." Samuel replied with an unrepentant grin.

"Kia never said anything either." Hao muttered.

"She thought it was funny too." Samuel said. "She acts all cool and mysterious, but she's got quite the sense of humour."

"We lived with her, we know." Yoh said. "May I remind you of the potions incident?" Hao grimaced in remembrance.

Kia sometimes took an energy potion, when she was working hard on something and couldn't afford to sleep. Hao had the clever idea of switching it out with a harmless transformation potion, a fun little potion that young supernaturals used for play. It wore off in about an hour and had no lasting effects. It was one of the few moments where the twins had actually argued about something. Yoh eventually just allowed Hao to do it, thinking it was slightly funny.

Of course Kia had found out about it, and apparently feeling mischievous, laced Hao's breakfast with it. Hao turned into a rabbit in the shop and was accosted by a young faun, who loved rabbits and didn't realize that Hao was actually human. Yoh hadn't been able to do anything, overwhelmed by Hao's own scattered emotions. Hao eventually managed to squirm free, but not in time to avoid changing back into a human in the middle of the shop, buck naked. Kia had laughed herself silly for days.

"Never try to prank someone whose moniker is the Ageless." Samuel said, laughing.


	9. Chapter 9

Star: I own nothing!

It was finally time for their first battle. Yoh, Hao and Samuel had spent almost all of yesterday going over strategy and coming up for contingency plans if what they had in mind didn't work out. Luchist was a bit annoyed that they would train in secret, wanting their new style of fighting to be a complete surprise to everyone.

"One would think that you two enjoy being mysterious." The tall man grumbled as he followed them to the arena.

"It can be fun." The twins agreed.

"We have nothing on Kia though." Hao said.

"She makes being mysterious into an art form." Yoh finished. Luchist looked at the both of them and shook his head.

"I hesitate to say it, but you two seem more…" He trailed off, looking nervous.

"Complete?" Hao and Yoh asked.

"That would be sort of correct." Yoh said. "We did our own research on this bond and it turns out that it is only able to be done between those that are soul mates."

"When people think soul mates they think lovers, but soul mates can be any relation." Hao said. "Perhaps our soul mate bond was unnaturally made because of our soul split, but that's a bit of a moot point now."

"May I borrow some of this research?" Luchist asked. "I wish to understand more."

"We'll have to speak to Kia, but yes, we'll get you the books." Hao said. "Now go, find Chocolove, he said he'd be holding seats for you three." Luchist nodded. Mari picked up Opacho and the three of them walked off.

"You ready for this?" Yoh asked Samuel as they headed out into the arena.

"I was born ready." Samuel declared.

"Good, then you won't mind running point." Hao said cheerfully. Samuel gave him a look of wide-eyed surprise.

"You are evil, both of you." He griped.

"Hey, we want to see if all our training has paid off." Yoh said with a shrug.

"And it's not as though we're just throwing you to the wolves." Hao said. "We'll make sure they can't kill you, we won't stop them from knocking you out though. No pressure."

"No pressure, my ass." Samuel said. The three of them entered the ring. Thanks to training with Kia they were now more sensitive to magic and could feel the wards around the ring that prevented anyone else from getting in, and harmful things from getting out tingling on their skin.

They didn't know who their opponents were. They were shamans that had either not made it past the first round the last time, or hadn't been bothered to even be tested. They weren't very powerful, which was why Yoh and Hao felt comfortable allowing Samuel to do the bulk of the fighting this time. That and they tended to try and finish things quickly, not wanting to risk getting hurt. Because their style of fighting brought them right into battle, it was likely they could be hurt, which wasn't really a problem, but neither of them liked being in pain; too often it reminded them of Marco.

"You'll be fine." Yoh murmured to Samuel as Radim went through his opening speech. "We're right behind you."

"Yeah, yeah, you just don't wanna have to do all the work." Samuel griped, taking out his war hammer.

"Why do you think Hao had lackeys?" Yoh asked, amused by Hao's indignant emotional response to that. Samuel snorted a laugh and tapped one hoof against the floor as Radim continued to ramble.

As soon as Radim called time, Samuel had his oversoul ready and slammed his hammer against the ground. The ground seemed to ripple, knocking their opponents off balance. Samuel was moving as soon as he'd hit the ground, his oversoul forming a hammer of rock around his hammer and a paw with wicked claws around his other arm. Ghostly armour covered his chest and back. Yoh and Hao stepped back, leaning against a totem pole, watching.

Samuel knocked one opponent clear out of the ring with his first blow, taking him out of the fight. The other two had the presence of mind to either put up a shield or move out of the way of that hammer. One fired a bolt of energy at Samuel, who twisted, planting his hooves letting his armour absorb the blow. Anyone else would have been knocked back, but Samuel held firm and swiped out with his guardian spirit's claws, forcing his opponent to shield himself.

The other used this opportunity to try an attack at Samuel's back. Samuel stamped on the ground and a block of rock lifted from the ground, slamming into his opponent, knocking him out. That left only one, who looked very nervous being the only one left in the ring.

Samuel took a swipe at him, which was blocked by his opponent's oversoul. Samuel just kept coming at him, swiping at him or taking a swing at him with his hammer. His opponent didn't realize that every time he took a step away he was being driven back towards the edge of the ring. Samuel gave his panting opponent a sunny grin and poked him in chest with his hammer. His opponent stumbled back, out of the ring and stared in surprise.

The arena erupted in cheers. Samuel looked around, shocked. The twins moved then, going up to him and clapping him on the shoulders.

"Not bad, not bad at all." Yoh said.

"Well, they weren't that powerful, after all." Hao said.

"Gee thanks, way to make a guy feel good about himself." Samuel said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. He stretched out a hand to his opponent, who was still just standing outside the ring, bewildered. He blinked at the hand offered and then took it, letting Samuel shake his hand.

"Good fight." Samuel said.

"Uh, yeah, I guess it was." The man said nervously. "Kind of sucks it's over for me now though."

"Yeah, that sucks, but hey, you did good." Samuel said. "I've just been trained by the best."

"Yeah, kinda glad it wasn't one of them." The man said, jerking his head at Hao and Yoh. "No offence."

"None taken." Yoh and Hao replied.

"We wanted this to last a little longer than a few seconds." Hao said. The man glared at him for a second and his eyes widened fearfully. Hao's reputation apparently had not faded. The mild annoyance was from both twins, though Hao's annoyance was slightly tinged with amusement.

"Come on, before you collapse and we have to carry you out of here." Yoh said to Samuel. He'd used up quite a bit of power today, and his earth powers always took a lot of him. Samuel nodded his head, still grinning proudly.

As they escorted him from the ring Hao and Yoh sought their allies and friends. Chocolove was dancing wildly in the stands, while Ren looked on in annoyance. Luchist and Mari gave them nods, while Opacho clapped happily.

Doctor Lithu was with them as well, and the feline doctor grinned widely at both of them and gave them a thumb's up. Yoh waved cheerfully and Hao grinned at their friend. While trusting him had been a necessity at first, they both had quickly become very good friends with the doctor, and had taken time to visit him many times in the last two years, scaring him each time of course.

Their attention turned to Yoh's former friends and family then. Yohmei looked as though he were sucking on lemons. Mikihisa of course could not be read because of the mask, but his stance was rigid, unyielding. Hao felt the pang of sadness from Yoh and mentally reminded him of all the people who still loved and believed in him, including himself.

Horohoro looked shocked, and a little conflicted as well. _Good_. Thought Hao viciously. _See that you were wrong, that we're not monsters. _Yoh mentally asked him to calm down a little bit. Hao tried, but it was hard not to be angry when Yoh felt sad about this.

Ryu had the same sort of expression as Horohoro. Hao felt Yoh's hope, that maybe they were getting through to them. Hao however was skeptical, which turned their feelings into cautious optimism. Lyserg, not surprisingly, looked suspicious. He likely believed they hadn't killed their opponents, as Hao would have once done, to make themselves seem less evil.

The twins shook their heads and looked around some more. Their eyes then fell on someone they hadn't expected to see there, at least not yet. Aqua blue eyes smiled at them, and though they could not see it, they were sure a fluffy white tail was currently curling in amusement. Yoh and Hao waved once, and Kia nodded her head approvingly at them.


	10. Chapter 10

Star: I own nothing!

Samuel hadn't made it back to the house before demanding to take a nap. Yoh and Hao decided that the clearing they both knew of would do for his rest. The magic in the area would help his furyioku recharge itself.

Kia showed up as Samuel was settling down. Yoh, knowing what Hao had in mind, let his twin take matters into his hand. "Kia, we have something we would ask of you. Or rather, I have something to speak to you about." Hao said to Kia, bowing formally.

She eyed him with interest. "I knew something interesting would happen if I came now." She finally said. "And I have an idea of what you wish to ask. Will Yoh be joining us?"

"I'll stay with Samuel, I'll know what you're talking about, anyways." Yoh said, shaking his head.

"Of course." Kia said, inclining her head. "Walk with me."

Hao and Kia walked off and Yoh sat down against a tree to listen to their conversation mentally while keeping an eye on Samuel. After a few minutes his heightened magical senses let him know that two people were approaching. He opened his eyes to regard Ren and Horohoro.

"Hello." He said, Hao's suspiciousness making him cautious. Without Hao he would have simply grinned and invited both to join him. With their mix of suspicion and hope, Yoh was far more cautious than he might have been with his old friends. "What can we do for you?"

"He wanted to come." Ren said, jerking his head at Horohoro, who looked sheepish. "He wants to talk."

"So, talk." Yoh said, not unkindly.

"Where's your other half?" Horohoro blurted out. He grimaced after he said it and Ren smacked him over the head.

"He's having a conversation with Kia." Yoh said.

"I thought you couldn't be apart?" Ren asked.

"Over time we found we've been able to stray further from each other without causing pain from our Bond." Yoh said. "That being said, we don't enjoy being separated and will only do it when needed. Samuel needs someone to look after him, and Hao did not want to wait to have his conversation."

"What conversation?" Horohoro asked. "Who is this Kia?"

"For your second question, Kia is the supernatural known as the Ageless." Yoh said, enjoying the gobsmacked look on Horohoro's face. Kia had a reputation all over the world. "As for your first question, that is between us and Kia for the moment."

"You sound like Hao." Horohoro said nervously.

"We sound like each other." Yoh said. "Being in each other's heads constantly will create changes, you know."

"So, the Bond has changed you then." Ren said, sounding conflicted.

"Not in the way that you would think." Yoh said. "We are not a hive mind, we do not have the same initial reactions to things. The thing that makes us different is our initial reactions tend to mix and create an outward reaction that is somewhere in between the reaction each one of us had."

"What?" Horohoro said blankly.

"Let's take you coming here for an example." Yoh said. "My initial reaction to seeing you was hope and optimism. If it was simply me reacting I would have invited you to sit and chat. Hao's initial reaction is suspicion. If it was just him he would have made you go away, thinking that if you betrayed us once, it's all too likely you would betray us again." He held up a hand to halt any protests at that statement. "Our Bond takes those two reactions, makes us think for a moment, and generally we decide that the best reaction is somewhere in between our own reactions. Of course all this happens in the space of mere seconds, so there seems to be no hesitation."

"So basically, what this Bond does, is tempers some of your more extreme reactions to things." Ren said slowly.

"Precisely." Yoh said.

"I've always thought that you were a little too forgiving, a little too trusting, and a little too laid back. You were missing the ability to stay angry, stay suspicious, be more productive." Ren said. "While Hao was just a little too intense, a little too vindictive and a little too aloof. He was missing the ability for compassion and for trust. Am I wrong?"

"Not completely, no. It's difficult to explain, but you are on the right track." Yoh said. "Basically, we do complete each other, our individual strengths complement each other's weaknesses."

"You balance each other." Horohoro said.

"Yes. Kia's not sure if the Bond was needed because Hao did separate a part of himself into me, or if it is simply because we are identical twins, and identical twins are already often half-souled, but it's a moot point now." Yoh explained. "The point is we never would have been completely whole without this Bond."

"May that have had something to do with your previous lethargy?" Ren asked.

"It is possible." Yoh said. "But it could also have just been lack of motivation. Either way the Bond solved that problem. I still hate waking up in the morning though." This at last prompted a faint smile to appear on Horohoro's face. "Why did you come here now?"

"Hao didn't kill anyone." Horohoro said. "Those opponents were weak, and once upon a time Hao would have killed all of them, but he didn't. I've had doubts for a while, just too stubborn to admit it, and that kind of gave me the kick in the head I needed to try and talk rationally about this."

"As much as you are capable of, anyways." Ren muttered. Horohoro glared at him, but didn't argue.

"I need to know why." Yoh said softly. "Why did you choose to try and kill us both? Why didn't you trust me?"

"You have no idea what it was like to see your body lying there and knowing that you were gone, that Hao had stolen your soul. It was like our whole world had just gone insane. Getting you back was the most amazing thing ever. And then you disappeared right after the tournament was over, and no matter how hard we searched, we couldn't find you. We gave you up for dead." Horohoro said, shaking his head. "Then it turns out you are alive, but you are Bonded with Hao. God, it felt like we'd lost you all over again, except this time you were walking and talking as though nothing was wrong. Maybe we should have taken time to think about it, but all we could see was that you were trapped, and that you'd rather be dead than having Hao use you."

"We thought that might be the reason." Yoh said. "It doesn't change the hurt, but it's nice to know the reason. It may help us move on from that."

"Right." Horohoro said, sounding disappointed.

"It's not fair to you to tell you that you are forgiven, and then have us act cautiously around you." Yoh said. "One thing that we agree completely on is honesty, we always have."

"That is true, Hao may have been many things, but he was never a liar." Ren mused.

"You're still not sure about this." Yoh said, seeing Horohoro bite his lip.

"It's a lot to take in, and you don't sound like you anymore." Horohoro said.

"We understand. We don't like it, but we understand." Yoh said. "What about Ryu?"

"He's been informally adopted into the Asakura family. I don't think he's going to go against them, even if he wants to." Horohoro said with a shrug. "Anna's got him pretty whipped."

"Dodged that bullet." Yoh muttered. "I'd keep an eye on Lyserg, if I were you."

"He's been acting pretty squirrelly lately." Horohoro said. "You know something?"

"Let's just say that Hao is starting to see a lot of himself in Lyserg at the moment." Yoh said. He didn't want to be the one to tell them that Lyserg had nearly killed someone. "If you want to know more, question him, but leave us out of it. We don't need any more trouble from him than we already have."

"This sounds serious." Ren said softly.

"It might be." Yoh agreed. Either Lyserg had left without killing Luchist because he wanted the man to suffer, or wanted him to serve as a warning, or realized what he was doing and got scared. Yoh hoped it was the last, but Hao thought it was one of the first two. They would be watching themselves and others very closely around Lyserg from now on.

"Uh, well, see you around." Horohoro said, fidgeting uncomfortably.

"See you." Yoh replied. Horohoro walked off. Ren looked at Yoh and gave him a shrug. Yoh returned the shrug and closed his eyes, focusing on Hao's conversation with Kia.


End file.
